Tabula Rasa
by UltimatePalmTree
Summary: [AU MULTICHAPTER CRACKFIC] Tabula Rasa. The belief one is born unknowing. Dorchette's new puppy is no exception to this statement.
1. Puppy Love

**Tabula Rasa**

By UltimatePalmTree

**Chapter One**

Puppy Love

"Can I keep him?"

Greed cocked an eyebrow at his dog chimera subordinate in slight interest. He had been wondering what had happened to him when Dorchette had staggered into the Devil's Nest from the pouring rain outside, hunched over and his arms wrapped around his middle in an almost protective way. He had initially believed that Dorchette had finally met his match in a swordfight on the streets of Dublith. The avaricious Sin was initially going to tell him to not bleed all over the floor and then go back to his whiskey.

It was at that moment that Dorchette straightened up, shook his head to get rid of the rain, and looked around the bar. He was clamping his white shirt shut with his left hand, and his right arm was supporting an odd bulge in his middle. Thoroughly confused and with his curiosity officially piqued, Greed tried to figure out exactly _what_ the object was when it actually _moved_. Something alive.

Aw. _Crap_.

Dorchette padded over to his boss, still holding the bulge and sat down next to Greed. "Hi, boss," he said with a puppyish grin on his face.

"What's with you?" Greed asked, indicating the bulge with a wave of his whiskey-filled glass.

As if on cue, a black ball of fuzz forced its way out of Dorchette's shirt, examined Greed critically and then yipped, almost in a happy sort of tone.

"It's a puppy!" Dorchette explained happily.

"I can _see_ that…" Greed said as he examined the pup's slightly squashed-in face.

There was a pause before Dorchette finally asked the dreaded question. "Can I keep him?" Which pretty much brings us up to speed with the action going on in the Devil's Nest that rainy evening.

Now, Greed liked dogs in general. Friendly, loyal little things when they weren't barking their fricking heads off. This was part of the reason he took so kindly to Dorchette. But a dog chimera with a well-developed sense of what to do and what not to do in certain situations was a different story compared to a small puppy that—in just a minute—could create a mess that only a Category Five tornado could create.

Greed laughed apologetically after a long pause and scratched the puppy behind the ears. "I'm sorry, Dorchette, but I don't think a puppy would be taken too well here,"

Dorchette's grin receded from his face a bit before he tore his gaze away from Greed. "Alright… But I can't just kick him out in the rain. Can't he at least stay the night?"

Greed's expression changed from apologetic to slight concern. Dorchette was positive that he was going to say "Alright, just for tonight," when the puppy in his arms became very fidgety. It was clearly trying to escape. _Aw, crap…_ Dorchette thought, tightening the grip on his puppy. _Not now…_ The puppy was unheeding of his silent prayers and squirmed out of his grasp and onto the bar counter, its little claws clacking against the wood as it ran down towards the other end.

"Rasa!" Dorchette yelled, diving after the loose dog. If he didn't catch his pup in a matter of seconds, Greed was gonna be one pissed-off Homunculus; that he knew for sure. He may just become one pissed-off Homunculus anyway, seeing as how when Dorchette had dove for his new friend, he had managed to knock Greed's whiskey off of the counter and straight into his face.

Dorchette had expected the pup to merely stop at the other end of the bar and look around for another way to run, therefore giving him a shot at catching the dog. However, the thing was smarter than he looked. It immediately jumped for the nearest bar stool and then leapt down from there, unfazed at the impact from the ground. Then the teddy bear-like dog decided it was time to explore his new territory at close to top speed.

The first person the dog decided to check out was Martel, who was sitting at one of the couches and quietly reading a book, somehow entirely oblivious to the whole thing with Dorchette's puppy. The dog took one sniff at her and decided he didn't like her. The Devil's Nest exploded with the sounds of inexperienced puppy barks. The snake chimera jumped slightly and looked down at the dog. "Dorchette! Not again!" she yelled angrily at her friend, who was currently slithering down one of the bar stools like a drunken lizard.

"Sorry, Martel!" he yelled back, trying to straighten himself up. "Sorry, boss,"

Greed simply glared at him, amber droplets of whiskey dripping off the tip of his nose and the rims of his glasses. Dorchette then launched himself at the dog, hopefully to get a grip on the dog's waist. However, the dog seemed to be just as fast as him and sped away, still barking hoarsely. A sudden yell of "C'mere, dumbass!" told Dorchette that Greed had joined the chase, possibly with murderous intentions. The dog chimera picked himself up off the ground (he had plowed chest first right in front of Martel, who's expression was a hybrid of annoyance and disbelief) and started after the overexcited puppy.

He and Greed were fast on the puppy's poofy tail and had almost backed the dog into a corner when it took a sharp turn to the left and sped right past them in the opposite direction. "Ironic, isn't it?" was Dorchette's comment to his boss.

"Screw irony! Get the dog!" Greed bellowed.

Dorchette nodded and tore after the canine, Greed following after him. The bluish-black diamond skin covered his hands; if he tried catching the dog with those talons, the dog'd be gutted and quartered in no seconds flat. The words _Aw, crap_ flashed through his mind for a second time as he ran after his precious Rasa.

In the ensuing scuffle, Dorchette had managed to both plow chest first into the ground one more time _and_ get the dog by grasping its hind legs. Not the best of plans, Dorchette knew, but it would have to do until he got a better grip on the dog. This plan, however, was failing. Seeing as how Greed was straddling his upper back and holding Dorchette around the throat. The black diamond claws dug into the fragile skin of his neck, probably on accident, but Dorchette couldn't be sure. Whatever his intentions—hostile or no—he was succeeding in slowly and painfully asphyxiating him.

Then the massive boots of a familiar cohort were right in his line of vision, right in front of Rasa. "What the heck was going on here?" a deep voice asked. Roa. Most definitely was Roa. Dorchette looked up (as best as one could look up when diamond claws were being forced into your throat) and saw the bull chimera's usual stern expression. His brow was slightly furrowed in anger, and he was holding that massive metallic maul.

"Dorchette brought _another_ new friend here," Martel explained from her position by the couch. "A dog this time,"

Greed ignored this comment and said, "You already named the dog?"

Dorchette nodded carefully and said, "Rasa,"

"Stupid dog…" At first, Dorchette wasn't sure to whom this comment was directed: him or Rasa. But a comment a second later made Dorchette know who this was directed at. "Now we _can't_ let it go away. It'll come back here again, looking for its master,"

"Interesting name," Roa commented absently. "Where'd you hear it?"

"Some people were talking a few streets back. Something about… what was it? It sounded like 'tablet rasa', and I just used the last part," Dorchette explained, voice raspy with lack of oxygen. "Greed, get your hands off my throat!" Instantly, the death talons let go, but the Homunculus remained firmly straddled on Dorchette's upper back. He had probably cracked two ribs by now; he didn't realize his boss weighed that much!

"Do you mean _tabula _rasa?" Roa asked, annunciating the first word.

"_That's_ it," Dorchette nodded. He carefully shifted his grip on the dog's right leg towards the dog's chest. After he was certain he had a firm grip on Rasa, he moved his left hand towards his companion and pulled him closer so as not to have a repeat of the previous accident. He didn't feel like seeing Roa peel Rasa off of the wall and throw him away in an unceremonious process.

"What is it?" Greed asked. His tone of voice was very interested now.

"It's the belief," Roa said carefully, "that one is born with a blank mind. Therefore, you are molded by your surroundings,"

Now it made perfect sense. The puppy was still young; Dorchette would have to teach him everything. That is, if Greed let him keep it…

"Since when did you become a philosopher, Roa?" Martel asked sarcastically.

"Alright," Greed said. "We need to figure out what we're gonna do to this dog. I say we let him stay _one_ night until the rain's over with. Then we take the dog as far away as possible and leave him there,"

Rasa had begun to lick Dorchette with a small, rough bluish-black tongue. Now Dorchette couldn't do anything to get rid of his friend. He hated all these canine loyalties and bonds…

Roa nodded. "Sounds fine," Martel said. Now it was Dorchette's turn. He paused for a second; somehow oblivious to Rasa's licking his cheek now. "Well, Dorchette?" Martel leaned on the back of one of the couches, waiting for his response.

Dorchette sighed and finally said, "Alright. Just one night. I promise,"

* * *

The next day, the four residents of Devil's Nest did just that. They took the sewers out of the city and started across four miles or so of meadow before reaching a creek. There was a fenced-in pasture of some sort a few yards away from the opposite bank of the stream; maybe there'd be a farm or something that Rasa would be able to be adopted onto. He walked through the stream, holding Rasa in his shirt and allowing the alert puppy to see what was happening to the outside world. 

He then took Rasa out of his shirt and absently rubbed the top of the fragile creature's head as he set him down on the grass. "Stay, Rasa," Dorchette ordered firmly. The puppy merely looked up at him with glassy dark brown eyes, head cocked to one side. "May your spirit be unbroken,"

"You done yet?" Roa asked, breaking the moment.

Dorchette turned around to face his friends and nodded. He waved to Rasa one last time, and splashed through the clear stream once more. _To deplete all of our scents…_ he thought. "Let's go," he said once he reached his friends.

Greed snorted slightly and said, "'Bout time you got rid of him. One night was enough for me," He turned around and started walking off towards the Devil's Nest, hands shoved into the pockets of his low-risers. Not long after, Roa and Martel followed him. Dorchette knew he was supposed to as well, but he couldn't. Rasa was sitting on the opposite side, looking up at what he had come to know as his father of sorts.

Dorchette couldn't do it. He made sure that Roa, Martel and Greed were a fair distance away, and then picked up Rasa once more. "If you be _very_ quiet," Dorchette whispered, "I'm sure you can get a nice bed back at home,"

Rasa seemed to understand. Once Dorchette placed the puppy in the knee-high grass (the dog disappeared easily in this), the dog didn't make any sounds except for the rustling that could've just been the wind. Perfect. With that, the pair marched off towards their home.

* * *

**Disclaimer**

Alright. I don't own anything from _Fullmetal Alchemist_ or anything else referenced here. I don't own any songs I may use here just to clear that up, too. The only things I own of this story is the created plot (of Dorchette getting a puppy), the characters I created (unless stated otherwise, like if they're from someone else), and possibly some of the items in the story. I own Rasa. –pets Rasa, but then hands him to Dorchette—Frammit, haven't you toilet trained him _yet_?

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes**

Yup. First chapter of my new Devil's Nest fanfic, _Tabula Rasa_. I am quite proud of myself. This is my first multi-chapter FMA non-slash story. Woot! Go me!

Anyhoo… I know you've probably seen this story fifty-thousand times on this site. I am hoping you don't find this story a copy of them. I was just wondering one day how Dorchette would react if he had a puppy, because… Ya know, bein' a dog chimera an' all… So, this was born.

If you're wondering about that line that Dorchette says towards the end ("May your spirits be unbroken."), here's where it comes from. I'm a Peter Gabriel fan, and I was listening to the song _Wallflower_ while writing this. For some odd reason, in the scene where Dorchette has to say good-bye to Rasa (temporarily good-bye, at any rate), I could hear this song in the background as he did this. One of the lines in the chorus for _Wallflower_ is "They put you in a box, so you can't get hurt/heard. May your spirits stay unbroken, may you not be deterred." The chorus fit with the whole situation with Rasa. Although, I think it's about a mental hospital patient, but I can't be too certain. The song _Wallflower_. Yeah, I listen to good (but weird) music.

Alright. I've finished chapter one (obviously), and I have an idea for chapter two. However, I'm going to ask any reader who manages to read this to help a sister out. I need ideas for the Devil's Nest and Rasa. You can submit anything you want: trying to train the dog, dinner time, visitors, etc. I don't care as long as it's an idea! But I can't guarantee I'll use it, or at least, not right that second. Palmy can only take so much before her brain decides to go asplody.

So yah, I'm begging for ideas. That's pretty much it, actually. I've got nothing else to say, except for keep watching my profile for updates on _Tamers_ and other new stories (I've developed a taste for one shots like _Murder in the Lounge_ and _Kimblee's Twisted Transistor_.)

Oh, and one last thing…

Do any of you know what species of dog Rasa is?

I know it, but I'm not tellin' anything yet! So… I guess… Until next time!


	2. Accidental Discovery

**Tabula Rasa**

By UltimatePalmTree

**Chapter Two**

Accidental Discovery

"Rasa? _Rasa_!"

It was a few weeks after Dorchette had supposedly released his precious pup into the wilds of the world, hopefully never to be seen again. However, Dorchette had managed to salvage Rasa from the wilds and smuggle him into the Devil's Nest. It involved bribing Kimblee (all of Dorchette's coffee for a whole damn month!) and a few rather intricate sets of plans, some involving the use of horses and molasses. Other than those four to five hours it took Dorchette to get him out of the sewers without getting caught, Rasa was safe.

For the entirety of the five weeks Rasa had spent total in the bar, he had been confined to Dorchette's room. A pretty interesting predicament. He couldn't let anyone—especially Greed—see his room, and he had to make sure that it didn't start to smell after a while. Let's just say after a few minor puppy accidents, it wasn't working as well as he had hoped. But this was an entirely different story all together.

Last night, Dorchette had made his usual midnight trip to the bathroom, being careful to shut the door quietly so as not to wake Rasa or anyone else up. He had come back, and must've left the door open a few inches. He woke up with the door wide open (seriously, how much space did a puppy need to get out of the door with?) and Rasa missing from the pile of blankets under his bed. For the third time (and probably not for the last time), _Aw, crap_ flashed through his head.

The sun's rays were beginning to show in the outside alleyway. Dorchette figured he had a few minutes to search for the puppy. If he didn't find him within that small time slot in which Martel (the early bird in the group) would come down and start to make the coffee for everyone else, he'd probably be dead meat. He shuddered at the thought of him _and_ Rasa being peeled off one of the walls after receiving a particularly nasty blow from Roa's hammer and dropped down immediately onto his hands and knees.

"Raaaasaaaa…" he called quietly. "Rasa, come here, boy… C'mere," He didn't want Martel to catch him like this, crawling around like a… well… a _dog_, looking for his charge. He crawled out of the bar area and towards the couches at the other end of the room. He didn't see anything that would suggest a small canine form under either couch, but then again, Rasa was kind of undersized…

He crawled over to the closest couch and peered underneath it before sticking his head under it entirely. Not exactly the smartest thing to do. When was the last time Greed had _dusted_ under here? About a century ago? The dust irritated his particularly sensitive nose; he attempted to hold it back in. Surprisingly, it worked. He continued in his search for Rasa after opening his eyes and scanning the dust-covered floor. Well, Rasa wasn't here… At least, he was certain of it.

"Looking for something?"

Dorchette yelped in surprise, abruptly pushing off the ground with his hands and knees. One problem: he forgot his head was still under the couch. He banged his head against the hard wood planks holding the stuffing and springs in (albeit not too well; it looked like Kimblee had been playing around with the couch again) and sneezed, sending clouds of dust everywhere. He waited patiently for the throbbing pain to go away before carefully taking his head out from underneath the couch.

Roa. Shoot. The _last_ person Dorchette wanted to see. He was still a good friend, but an inopportune time… He had been expecting Martel. Yet, here he was in all his odd, road-block-type glory, hands behind his back.

"No," Dorchette replied simply, staring the bull chimera directly in the eyes. Whoever said that thing about liars not being able to hold someone's gaze for more than two seconds was seriously lying; he held it perfectly.

Maybe that was the problem.

"Really?" Roa asked, his tone not changing at all. He was good at hiding his emotions. All except for rage. You felt that one all too well when he really wanted you to. "Maybe for this?" Roa brought his hands out from behind his back, and in his right, he held Rasa up by the scruff of the poor dog's neck. Dorchette involuntarily leapt up from his crouching position and snatched Rasa away from the bigger chimera.

"How'd you find him?" Dorchette asked, allowing Rasa to lick his hand happily.

"How do you _think_?" Roa asked in a dead pan. "He was in my room. Plus, he pissed in my boots,"

For the first time, Dorchette had noticed Roa was wearing everything he usually wore. Except for the aforementioned item. The dog chimera shuddered as he stood up and moved to the couch to sit down. "Well? What're you going to do with him?" Roa asked. "Greed thinks Rasa's out in the world somewhere. And obviously, you can't fake his disappearance anymore. It's obvious," Roa pointed to a corner of the Devil's Nest. _Crap_. Literally. Rasa must've done it before finding his new playmate.

"I'll clean it up," Dorchette said calmly.

"_And_ everything else the dog did? Chances are he left something for Greed, too,"

"Yeah…" Dorchette mentally slapped himself for not training the dog to go to the bathroom _outside_ in the first place. "I should tell him,"

"Tell who what?"

Both of the chimeras averted their gaze to the stairs. They had expected Martel to be there, but the voice was _way_ too low to be anywhere _near_ Martel's. It was, unfortunately, Greed. "Morning, sir," Roa said, attempting to hold the Homunculus' attention away from Dorchette and the puppy. "I trust you slept well?"

"Very well. Except for the part where the _dog_ jumped onto my face," Greed glared at Dorchette before continuing, "I thought you let him go,"

Dorchette's dark blue eyes widened slightly before he hung his head, like a dog that had been smacked on the rump with a rolled-up newspaper. "Sorry, Boss…" he muttered. "I couldn't leave him there,"

Greed seemed to contemplate this before sighing and saying, "Fine… Stupid dog stays in your room, though. _You_ clean up after it, especially what it did to _my_ room. Got that?" Dorchette looked up at his boss in a 'really?' sort of way. Greed nodded before going to Roa, "Get me a drink or something. I'm gonna need a lot of them sometime soon…" and sauntering over to the bar.

It was at that moment Martel decided to come downstairs, knife clutched in hand. Crap. She only came down with her knife in her hands when she was _really_ ticked off. She scanned the room quickly before seeing Dorchette holding the fidgety Rasa. "I _thought_ I heard a dog last week," she said before turning to Greed and Roa. "Did that dog do anything to your rooms?"

"Yes," the Homunculus and bull chimera said in monotonous unison.

Martel sighed before saying, "Make two of those, Roa. I'll probably need one,"

Dorchette ignored this last comment and proceeded to take Rasa up the stairs to his room. "See? I _told_ you if you stayed quiet, you might be able to stay here," Rasa responded with a lick on the tip of Dorchette's nose. "But _stay in my room_. Otherwise I'll have to give you away," Rasa cocked his head at Dorchette, but seemed to understand. Dorchette quickly glanced in Roa's room, winced at what he saw and shook his head. "And you have to behave! You can't just go into people's rooms and piss all over the place! Understand?"

Rasa seemed to bob his head in response. "I mean it, too," he said as he walked through the door into his room and placed Rasa on the ground. "Stay," he ordered, although he was positive Rasa wouldn't listen. And, as he was turning around to go back downstairs and starting to close the door, Rasa didn't stay. The dog instead lopes towards Dorchette and stays in slightly ajar door. As carefully as Dorchette can (without hurting the dog), he pushed Rasa back into the room with his foot. "Stay," he repeated, sterner this time. The success might have been the fact he shut the door before he gave Rasa the chance to escape.

The puppy scratched at the door, whining slightly. Dorchette paused slightly before shaking his head. The more the pup learned to stay alone, the faster he would learn to be strong. He (reluctantly) walked back downstairs, sensing he'd be needing a drink sometime soon, too.

* * *

**Disclaimer**

Alright. I don't own anything from _Fullmetal Alchemist_ or anything else referenced here. I don't own any songs I may use here just to clear that up, too. The only things I own of this story is the created plot (of Dorchette getting a puppy), the characters I created (unless stated otherwise, like if they're from someone else), and possibly some of the items in the story. I own Rasa. –pets Rasa, but then hands him to Dorchette—Frammit, haven't you toilet trained him _yet_?

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**Author's Notes**

Woot! I got a review for this story. I was quite surprised; I really am… I usually never get a review almost as soon as I post a story. Well, life's full of surprises.

**Domenic:** You're the first reviewer! You can baby-sit Rasa someday! XD Yes, Greed is awesome. I totally agree with you. Also, I've read your 'Mr. Fuzzy Jacket' drabble sets, which are _very_ good. That's the best title for a Greed-centric drabble set. Anyway, thanks for the idea on the cat joining the Devil's Crew for a while. I'm gonna have fun with that cat, ain' I… (grins impishly) Maybe I'll find a way to drag Al into that chapter… Maybe…

Yup. This chapter's done. Fairly fast update, _n'est pas_? Yup… I have a vague idea for the next chapter, but I'd like some ideas from other people. Ya know, as kind of feedback? My other friend is also helping me out with the ideas. So, between you guys and my friend, I ought to have a lotta sources for ideas! So, keep sending ideas, and until the third chapter! See y'all!


	3. Get the Stick

**Tabula Rasa**

By UltimatePalmTree

**Chapter Three**

Get the Stick

"See the stick?"

Roa cocked an eyebrow at Dorchette's new attempt to train Rasa. It didn't seem to be working, to put it nicely. In fact, it was failing in every way. Dorchette was waving a small twig at Rasa, of which the puppy seemed not to care too much about. "See the stick, Rasa? See that stick? C'mon, you know you want it! So go and _fetch_!" Dorchette threw the twig as far as he could possibly get it to go, which wasn't too far considering how light the stick was.

Either way, the black dog didn't seem to care too much about the stick. It sat there in front of Dorchette, poofy tail wagging in happiness to be in front of his master and best friend. If Roa didn't know better, Rasa looked kind of like he was smiling. Then again, when did a dog _not_ look like it was smiling at the thing in front of it?

Dorchette and Rasa paused for a second, staring at each other. "I give up," Dorchette threw his hands in the air and turned away from Rasa, starting over towards where Greed was lying in the shade of a tree. They had decided to take a day off from their usual lives, closing the Devil's Nest for a day and going out to the meadow in which they had tried to drop Rasa off. "I _seriously_ give up,"

Greed lowered his shades to look at his friend and said, "Havin' fun with training him?"

Dorchette sighed and dropped down to his knees in front of his master. "It's like bashing my head against a wall until I get a nosebleed," he said. "No matter how hard I try to train him, he just won't listen to me!" Rasa figured out that Dorchette had moved away from him and immediately bounded up to him, sat down next to him and rested his head in Dorchette's lap. The dog chimera placed a hand on Rasa's head and scratched behind his ears while Rasa licked his hand happily.

"Have you tried bribing him and praying he'll listen to you?" Greed asked. "I heard that's how you tame a wolf,"

"That's not the same as a simple dog," Dorchette said.

"If he's disobeying you, then he must be one smart puppy," Martel said from her perch in the tree. She still was reading that book of her's, but the corners seemed to be slightly more crinkled than before, maybe because of curious puppy teeth.

"If he was a smart dog, he'd _listen_ to me!" Dorchette said. Roa looked at Rasa, who looked back at him. Dorchette had stopped petting him and the dog was looking at him with liquid brown eyes. There was a moment while Roa and Rasa stared back at each other before the dog left Dorchette, who was arguing with Martel and Greed about how to train a dog. Rasa waddled over to him, blue-black tongue lolling from his mouth, and sat down next to him, obviously waiting for Roa to do something.

He tried ignoring the dog. It was _Dorchette's_, not _his_. When he found out it was so _hard_ to ignore Rasa, he looked at him finally. "Go away," he ordered, waving the dog away with his left hand. "Shoo,"

The dog wouldn't obey. He guessed that Dorchette was right about Rasa's willingness to obey anyone. "Go to Dorchette," he said, pushing Rasa in that general direction. "Go. He's your master, after all," Rasa _still_ wouldn't listen.

Roa sighed and said, "Listen, pup. I'm not your master, he is. Get that into your head,"

Rasa cocked his head at him in a way that clearly said, 'you're nuts'.

"I mean it. Go," Roa said. He stood up and looked down at the dog. "If you don't, I'll be forced to do it myself. Remember when I found you in my room?"

Rasa stood up and seemed to understand what Roa was saying. _Finally_. But instead of trotting back to Dorchette, he trotted to someplace _behind_ Roa. The bull chimera, thoroughly confused, turned around to watch him pick up a long, thick stick that had been lying close to a nearby tree. He took the stick back to Roa and dropped it at his feet, nudging it with his nose. Oh, _that's_ what he wanted. Roa sighed and said, "If you'll go back to Dorchette, I'll do it,"

He picked up the stick and walked into the sunlight, smacking the stick against the palm of his left hand as he did. "Alright. _One_ time. You hear me, pup? _One_ time," Rasa didn't seem to care; he just wanted Roa to throw the stick. For once, he looked eager to play fetch. And Roa complied.

"Get the stick!" he yelled and flung the stick as hard as he possibly could across the meadow. Rasa tore after the stick, barking all the while.

"Fetch the stick! Fetch the stick! _Fetch the stick_!" As soon as the stick landed, Dorchette tore past Roa at top speed, tongue lolling out and eyes wide in happiness. Both dog and master ran across the meadow, sending clots of dirt flying up in their wake. In an instant, Greed and Martel were standing next to Roa, watching as Rasa and Dorchette tripped over themselves to turn themselves around. They had severely missed the stick by about six feet.

"How the _heck_ did you do that?" Greed asked as Dorchette trotted back, holding the stick in his mouth with Rasa dangling from it, growling ferociously at the stick.

"Got the stick!" Dorchette said happily, albeit a little muffled because of said object in his mouth. He spat it out onto his hand and let Rasa drop off once he lowered it to the ground before dropping it in front of Rasa. "How'd you manage to get him to play with you?"

"I don't know," Roa said, picking up the stick Rasa had nudged towards his boots. "He just walked over to me and wanted to play,"

"He _wanted_ to _play_ with you?" Dorchette asked in disbelief. "Actually _wanted_ to play with you? I've been trying to play fetch with him since we got here, and he hasn't done it. And yet, you try it and he all of a sudden is your best friend,"

"Here," Roa offered the stick to him, of which the dog chimera took and flung across the meadow. The dog refused to chase it. Greed suppressed a few sniggers while Dorchette marched over to the stick, showed it plainly to the dog, and threw it again. Still, the dog didn't run. Greed began laughing loudly. Dorchette growled at him slightly before going to the stick once more and throwing it again. Rasa remained in front of Roa, watching Dorchette in a way that said 'what are you, nuts?' Greed began laughing hysterically at this.

"Stupid dog!" Dorchette yelled. "How the heck did you get him to play with you?"

Roa shrugged. "I told you I don't know," He walked over to the stick, Greed still laughing hysterically, and took the stick in his hand once more. "That was one time," Roa said. "Watch. He won't go now,"

One final throw.

"FETCH THE STICK!" Dorchette yelled, tearing once again after the stick and Rasa.

* * *

**Disclaimer**

I don't own Roa, Dorchette, Martel, Greed, Kimblee or anyone else from FMA. I do own Rasa and other possible OCs that may appear in other chapters. _May_ is the operative word there.

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**Author's Notes**

Woohoo! Third chapter! If you notice, these chapters are getting kind of more and more disjointed from another. I guess this could be called a series of short stories rather than actual chapters like in _Tamers_.

It seems like Roa's becoming Rasa's friend, doesn't it? Heehee… only time will tell.

Two more reviews for Rasa! Thanks _so_ much!

**Domenic:** Yup! Greed finally says 'yes' to Rasa and Dorchette's all happy now. You're absolutely right; Greed _is_ a softie for his chimeras. Well, with someone as irresistible as Dorchette, who _wouldn't_ be a softie for his chimeras? I think I saw the DeviantArt fan club and remembered the drabble title, so I did make some sort of connection.

**Senda san: **No, actually, I never saw that doujinshi. I'd like to, if possible, because it sounds cool. Does it have a link or something where I can view it? I just got this idea from waking up one morning and saying, "Dorchette with a puppy… How cute!" Yeah, I have some weird dreams…

Well, that was chapter three! I hope you like it; I had fun writing it. I find whenever I have fun, the story turns out better. I'm going to use the cat idea, definitely. It seems like a lot of fun. So, keep sendin' ideas, and I will definitely credit you in the chapter! Have a good day, wherever you are!


	4. Martel's Guest, Pt 1 of 2

**Tabula Rasa**

By UltimatePalmTree

**Chapter Four**

Martel's Guest, Part One of Two

"That's one heck of a spider on the ceiling,"

Dorchette cocked an eyebrow at Roa, who was standing in the corner and staring at the ceiling in absent interest. Nothing much else to do; it was one of those summer days where each minute seemed to last at least a decade. So, he couldn't really blame the bull chimera for saying anything to break the awkward silence. "You've got a fan that works," he pointed out. _Wow… Today must be Random Comment Day,_ Dorchette thought vaguely. "Why don't you use it?"

The dog chimera shook his head.

"Why not?" Roa asked. "It's hot outside,"

"I'm too lazy to get up and do it," Dorchette explained, shutting his eyes. "Plus, in case you haven't noticed," He pointed at Rasa, who was lying on his stomach fast asleep. "I don't want to wake up a puppy,"

He heard Roa sigh and go to the door. "I'm going downstairs," he muttered. "The fan downstairs _also _works,"

"Greed and Martel are down there, crowded in front of it as if it was the last one on Earth," Dorchette warned. But Roa didn't seem to care; the doorknob clicking as it shut put an extra period on his last statement. The dog chimera didn't care. He was quite content to lie there on the bed with Rasa and just let the day unfold outside his window.

Rasa had grown a bit since he had brought the little chow chow into the Devil's Nest, and he weighed a lot more than the former dog he had been. Thanks to the dog food they had given him, as well as Dorchette's stash of both dog treats and steaks, he now weighed about twenty pounds more than he had when he came. Let's just say, when Rasa stood on your stomach (especially if yours was full like Dorchette's was), you tend to notice when he does it. Especially when the knives they call claws happen to dig into your flesh as he jumped off.

"Remind me to clip your toenails," Dorchette muttered, examining the thin red scratches. No permanent damage. Probably wouldn't even bleed. But they still stung like a…

Rasa whined suddenly and scratched at the door with both forepaws. Dorchette finally understood and took a deep sniff of the air in the Devil's Nest. The usual scents—cigars, alcohol, human flesh, and other miscellaneous scents—were still there. But there was something entirely _different_. He got up off the bed and picked Rasa up, putting him in his white shirt so that only his head could be seen.

The hallway was still sticky and hot, like the rest of the Devil's Nest on that afternoon. He sniffed again, still unsure of what the new scent was. Whatever it was, it smelled wrong to him. Very, _very_ wrong. The scent led him down to the bar, where Martel was sitting and holding in her arms… _a cat_. A _fricking_ cat.

"Martel?" Dorchette asked. "What _is_ that?"

The snake chimera looked up at him calmly before saying, "What does it _look_ like? Or have your senses finally failed you?"

"They haven't!" Dorchette snapped. Rasa was now growling slightly, and was getting uneasy with being there. Dorchette tightened his grip on the chow chow before saying, "I meant, what's it doing _here_ of all places?"

"I'm keeping it until we can find its owner. See?" She pulled back a few tufts of fur to reveal an off-white collar. "It's clear someone owns it,"

"And if we can't find its owner?" Dorchette asked.

"We'll keep it," she answered simply.

_That's_ what Dorchette had been afraid of. He could live with Rasa. He loved Rasa enough to not cast him out in the streets again for the number of accidents the pup kept having. He identified with Rasa, for semi-obvious reasons. But with a _cat_! Come on, what were they gonna ask him to do next: strip naked and dip himself in _cheese_?

"But that's only if we can't find its owner," Martel said, "Greed and Roa are looking for the owners now, so don't get your hopes up,"

"I wasn't," Dorchette snarled, turning around and situating himself on the couch. He was going to make _sure_ they found the stupid cat's owner!

* * *

"No such luck," Roa shook his head later that evening. "We tried every door we could find and no one seems to know who the cat belongs to,"

"There's a tag on it," Greed pointed languidly at the cat's neck. "Check if there's something there,"

Martel did, flipping the silver heart-shaped tag over to read it. "Just a name. It says 'Ocelot',"

"So, we know the cat's name," Dorchette said. "But that doesn't tell us who _owns_ him, does it?"

"Maybe it's someone out of town," Roa shrugged. "Maybe someone decided to take a vacation here and their cat just went missing,"

"Alright," Dorchette said, leaning forwards. "Tomorrow, Martel and I join you two and we split up. We can cover more ground that way,"

"And what about Ocelot and Rasa?" Greed asked, cocking an eyebrow at his friend. "We can't leave them here. They'll create a mess that'll be a pain in the ass to clean up,"

"Take them with us," Martel said. "You can hold Rasa and _I'll_ hold Ocelot. We're gonna be in separate parts of town, so there is no chance of Rasa and Ocelot meeting each other. You gonna be happy then?"

"Sounds fine," Dorchette nodded tersely. He got up and started towards the stairwell, saying, "I'm going to bed. Need all my strength for tomorrow," A few footsteps echoed down before the slamming of a door and the yips of a happy dog.

"You sure this is a good idea, keeping the dog and the cat under the same roof?" Roa muttered to Greed as soon as Martel had also left the picture.

"It's just for a few nights. It won't kill anyone," Greed shrugged.

"Unless," Roa continued, "the dog and the cat somehow get out of their rooms,"

"Dorchette said he had Rasa under control, so I doubt it'll be a…"

The Homunculus was cut off by a sudden yell of "RASA! DON'T DO—OW!" and a loud thump from upstairs.

"Under control," Roa repeated. "Hm. Yeah,"

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**Disclaimer**

You know the drill: don't own anything in the FMA fandom except for the general plot of things and Rasa, Ocelot and my OCs.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Yup. This is part one of two. I _was_ going to string the two parts together, but then decided it'd be better to split them apart. It was gonna be long, and therefore… I split them. Plus, interesting factoid: Ocelot is my cat in real life. Pretty kitty, yes he is... Named him after Revolver Ocelot from _Metal Gear_.

So, yeah, it's Easter where I am. I just colored some eggs (I know, why am I boring you with my life story?), and I have five eggs named Roa, Dorchette, Martel, Greed and Rasa. I know, I have a few screws loose, don't I? XD

**NitemareB4Christmas:** I know I replied to you, but I write notes at the end of my chapters for anyone, really. Dorchette definitely needs more dog biscuits, I love him so much… Thanks for the cookie, by the way! It was really good! Yup. Rasa's a chow chow. I love them; they're so cute!

**BaronOBeefDip:** Is this _the_ BaronOBeefDip from DeviantArt? If so, I am quite honored. I _love _your story about Greed being turned into a lemur, especially the part with Dorchette drinking out of the toilet… I can _so_ see him doing that! Dorchette playing fetch is also kinda cute in a weird sort of way. I can see him doing that, too, come to think of it…

Also, the idea for this (and the next) chapter came from **Domenic**! Thanks so much, and have one of the Easter cookies my mom cooked up! They're fresh, I promise!

That's about it, readers! Just stay in touch and thanks for looking at _Tabula Rasa_ once again! Happy Easter/Passover to everyone!


	5. Martel's Guest, Pt 2 of 2

**Tabula Rasa**

By UltimatePalmTree

**Chapter Five**

Martel's Guest, Part Two of Two

"_This_ is going to be a fun day, isn't it?"

So said Roa when he woke up to an abrupt yelp of surprise. The bull chimera's gaze went from the ceiling to the small window at the right hand side of the room, where he could tell that it wasn't quite morning. A faint periwinkle glow from outside told him is was an indecent hour for him to be up, and was initially going to roll over and go back to sleep. Until another yell from downstairs resounded. Roa had initially thought the first one was just something from the dream he was having; it would have fit _perfectly_ in the place he was at. But, no, this was a definite yell. Maybe some random thief managed to break in and had found Kimblee. Roa cringed; he did _not_ feel like wiping the blood and guts off the walls again. So, he figured he'd intervene before Kimblee decided to show what he could _really_ do. He got up slowly before he walked over to the wall his hammer was leaning against, gripped it in his right hand and went downstairs.

For once, it was quiet. The bull chimera listened for a few seconds, and (after a while) was able to distinguish a few growls from behind one of the couches. Upon further investigation, he found Dorchette crouching on the floor with a thick length of rope in his hands with Rasa at the other end of it, growling ferociously and trying to pull the rope away from Dorchette. The two of them were playing tug-of-war, a game that—Roa could definitely see—neither one wanted to lose.

"Rasa, give me the rope!" Dorchette growled playfully. The puppy didn't seem to want to comply; it instead thrashed its head about in a manner Roa thought would give him whiplash. But Rasa didn't seem to notice anything except for his master's death grip on the other end of the rope. Dorchette abruptly jerked backwards on his end, causing Rasa's grip to dislodge, and sending Dorchette flying backwards onto his back. "Got the rope! Ha!" he yelled, but was silenced by Rasa leaping onto his chest and starting to attack the rope once more.

"Having fun?" Roa asked.

Dorchette averted his gaze from Rasa to Roa, and said, "Why're _you_ up so early?" as Rasa started tugging on the rope once more.

"Maybe because of you and Rasa?" he answered. "I should be asking you the same thing,"

Dorchette merely had to point at Rasa, who was now sitting on Dorchette's stomach and pawing at the rope in his mouth; Roa instantly understood. "Besides," the dog chimera said after a few seconds, "I want to get rid of that cat as soon as possible. I have an idea of going upstairs and waking up Martel and Greed so we can hurry it up!"

Roa cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Really,"

"Remember what happened last night?"

Dorchette cringed slightly and nodded. He remembered _very_ well what had happened last night.

* * *

"Rasa! Get upstairs and in the tub, _now_!" 

Dorchette sounded as if he was talking to a recalcitrant three-year-old having a tantrum because he didn't want to take a bath. However, Roa noticed a wet black dog streak past him and round the bar corner, leaving a trail of water droplets and soap suds as he went. With all that fur wet and plastered to his body like that, the dog looked like a mutated weasel. Dorchette came down the stairs, breathing hard and sniffing around the bar. He took off towards the bar stools and yelled, "Got you!"

It was a few minutes before Rasa and Dorchette disappeared up the stairs, the master still chasing after the pet. "Isn't he supposed to show Rasa who's the boss?" Greed asked from the bar.

Roa nodded. "And he's doing a _miserable_ job of it,"

Suddenly, the upstairs hallway erupted with barking and hissing and suddenly, "No! Out of my room! Now!" was yelled. Greed exchanged glances with Roa before the Homunculus bounded from the bar up the stairs. Roa followed shortly afterwards, stopping only in his room to get his hammer and grip it in both hands as he followed where the yowls and barks were coming from.

They were coming from Kimblee's room, oddly enough. The Mad Bomber was yelling at the top of his lungs for Martel, Dorchette, Rasa and Ocelot to get the hell out of his room and the two pets were currently trying to kill each other on the floor. Roa pushed past Greed, Martel and Dorchette and glanced at Kimblee. He had that look on his face. The look that said he was going to blow something or someone up. And the objects were probably going to be Rasa and Ocelot.

He swung out at Kimblee with his hammer, not to strike him or anything, but to stop him from doing anything else. The Crimson Alchemist ducked and yelled, "Watch where you're swinging that thing!"

"I _know_ where I'm swinging this!" Roa countered.

Kimblee merely smiled and raised his hands, revealing the transmutation circles on his hands.

Just as he was about to lunge past Roa and towards the two creatures fighting on the floor, Greed leapt in front of Kimblee. So, in short, instead of making Rasa and Ocelot 'go boom', he made his _boss_ 'go boom'.

There was a disgusting squelching sound as the Homunculus blew apart, covering the entire room in gore and other substances they preferred not to go into details about. Roa, who had his eyes shut since Kimblee exposed his transmutation circles, opened his eyes to view the carnage. Bits and pieces of Greed stuck to the chimeras, the pets and Kimblee. Dorchette and Martel looked both vaguely startled and like they were both going to be extremely sick. Dorchette looked at Rasa, who was pinning Ocelot down in a surprising near victory, and his face paled when he figured out that could have happened to his puppy dog.

The dog chimera stepped into the room cautiously, taking care to step over the dissolving bits of his boss and grabbed Rasa. Greed now stood, in all his six-foot-something glory, in front of Kimblee, glaring down at him. Kimblee, however, was _definitely_ not the person to back down from a fight and just stared Greed right in the eyes. Perhaps not the smartest thing to do to your boss, but then again, no one said Kimblee was intelligent. Insane, yes. Intelligent? _That_ was questionable grounds Roa preferred to never cross into.

Finally, after a few minutes of silent contemplation, Greed growled to Dorchette, "Get the dog out of here and keep him in your room. That's what you promised, right?"

Dorchette nodded, and exited the room. "Don't try that again," the Homunculus advised Kimblee, who nodded and then sat down on his bed as if nothing had happened. "Let's go," Greed had said.

The stupid cat had been retrieved by Martel and locked in her room, and (as far as Roa could tell) all was right with Devil's Nest. That is, until Dorchette yelled from his room, "Dammit, Greed! I just gave him a freaking bath!"

* * *

"Right," Roa nodded. "Do we want a repeat performance of that whole episode?" 

"Not especially," a voice behind him said. The bull chimera turned to see Greed standing there, fully dressed and with Martel by his side. The cat was cradled in Martel's arms, an arrogant yet languid expression on his feline face. "You ready or not? We figured we could split up, so two of us are on one side of town and the other two are on the other. Speed things up,"

Dorchette nodded and picked Rasa up off the floor. The puppy had long since lost interest in the rope (left lying somewhere near Roa's feet) and taken an interest in the dryness of the area around Greed's boots (or so Dorchette had guessed by the way Rasa was sniffing at said area). "I was thinking we could try the west side. Martel said she found him there," Greed said.

Both dog and bull chimeras nodded. That, obviously, meant they'd look in the east side. "Dublith's a good-sized town. There should be no reason for us to run into each other," Greed pointed out.

* * *

The sun was in the dead center of the sky, making it all the harder for Dorchette to focus on the task at hand. This usually meant it was lunchtime, and since he had neglected to eat breakfast, he was ravenous. The mix of the heat, his thirst and his hunger made it so it was near impossible… All the scents of the food coming from various cafés and restaurants and the like… Scents that Dorchette knew _very_ well: lamb, pork, beef, chicken… you name it, Dorchette could identify it easy. 

Dorchette eventually had to sit down on a nearby step leading into a store, massaging his forehead with his right hand. The whole being hungry and dehydrated thing was starting to take a toll on his stamina, and he had been repeating the same exact phrase for who-knew-_how­_-long:

"Hello, sir/madam. Are you the owner or do you know the owner of a cat, maybe a foot tall, and with gold eyes and dark brownish fur?"

Half of the responses had been 'no', but the other half had been 'I think I may have seen a cat like that'. When Dorchette pressed for further details, it turned out to be the wrong cat. And when a little old lady answered the door, she said something like "No, but I have two cats of my own. Fluffy and Maxim. Would the young men like to see my precious kitties?" Dorchette had declined these offers as politely as he could, and it wasn't because he liked cats and had a job to do. Obviously.

"Here," Roa snarled and placed Rasa in front of Dorchette, "I'm not your slave,"

Dorchette nodded in acknowledgement and picked up Rasa, then went back to massaging his forehead. "You don't look so good," Roa commented after a moment's silence.

"You _think_?"

"Just saying,"

"I'm freaking _starving_," Dorchette complained. "We've been working on this stupid cat all day today and I haven't eaten anything. So, yes, I think I'd look sick after a while!"

Roa paused for a second before saying, "I'm only looking out for you,"

"I know," Dorchette nodded, "but I'm _fine_. I've been through worse," At this, the dog chimera stood up, holding Rasa to his chest. As abruptly as he had stood up, a wave of nausea passed over him, causing him to extend one arm towards Roa to stabilize himself before opening his eyes and saying, "Let's go and find that cat's home,"

They walked for a few more minutes, debating over whether they had been down this street already or not. ("I'm _pretty_ sure I saw that flower pot before!" was Dorchette's argument.) Suddenly, Dorchette paused, sniffing the air. "Dorchette, will you stop? I told you once we found some money of some sort, we'd get you something,"

"Not that," Dorchette said, and kept sniffing. Finally, he opened his eyes and said one thing: "Ocelot,"

And, indeed, the cat was sitting at the end of the road, licking his paw and then applying it to behind his ears, repeating the process over and over again. _Cats must lead a pretty boring life,_ Roa thought blandly.

Something fuzzy and black was shoved into his arms.

"Dorchette, I _told_ you. I'm not your slave!"

"Shut up or you'll scare the cat," The dog chimera's dark blue eyes took on a hungry, almost crazed quality that Roa instinctively did _not_ like.

"Dorchette, you're not going to…"

"It's alright, Roa," Dorchette said, "I've heard cats are quite tasty stir-fried,"

"Dorchette! Listen to me! Snap out of it!"

Only Dorchette didn't quite snap out of it. If anything, he got even deeper into this whole mess. Rasa began barking his head off at the sight of Ocelot in a vulnerable position, and he leapt off of Roa's arms and raced towards the cat. Dorchette would have had his hackles raised as he let a rare and actual _bark_ escape his mouth and raced after Rasa.

The idiotic cat seemed to figure out he was in danger and started off at a quick run. _Not this all over again…_ Roa thought and took off after the three.

"I thought you had him!" Martel yelled once she met him.

"I did! He's just hungry is all,"

"No way!" Martel yelled. "He's _not_ eating _my_ cat!" With that, she pulled ahead of Roa, intent on getting some sense into Dorchette any way she could. Sometimes, it was great being as big as Roa, especially when he wanted to intimidate and/or cripple the person. However, it was a double-edged sword, and therefore, Roa was slower than his two compatriots. Martel, Dorchette, Rasa and Ocelot were still in front of him, but pulling away at a fierce speed.

Suddenly, there was a loud yelp, a metallic _clang_ and a few more yells. "Dorchette! I am going to wring your neck!" Obviously Martel.

"Can't I have his tail? They cut 'em off anyway!" Dorchette's response.

"Get out of me!" a voice Roa didn't recognize.

He stopped running, panting heavily and watching as a living _suit of armor_ tried prying Dorchette out of the place where his head should have been. Dorchette was half in, half out of the armor, and Martel was grasping his ankles and trying to pull him backwards. Dorchette's yells of wanting to eat the cat turned into pained yells of "Ow! Stop trying to pull me apart!"

Roa shook his head. He gripped Dorchette's legs and pulled upwards and backwards, freeing the dog chimera from the body of the armor. A silver helmet with a horn on the forehead was stuck to Dorchette's head, giving him an odd and obviously disfigured appearance. The suit of armor was still yelling and scrabbling at the clasps at his chest plate, finally getting it off and allowing Rasa to escape. From the sound of it, the cat was still in there, yowling up a storm.

"Thanks, mister," the suit of armor said, grabbing the helmet off of Dorchette's head and fixing it back into place. "What were you trying to do, anyway?"

Martel grabbed Dorchette by the pressure point in the back of his neck and said, "Well, I was trying to stop him from eating the _cat_!"

"Eating _Ocelot_?" the suit of armor sounded genuinely surprised. "Why would you want to do _that_!"

"Some things," Roa said, "are better left unexplained. That, my friend, is one of them,"

They were all quiet before Martel finally spoke, "Is that your cat?"

"Yeah, but I don't think Brother's going to enjoy having him along… Do you want him?"

Martel was given the opportunity to say yes, but Dorchette yelled, "No way in _hell_!"

"Okay… It was… nice meeting you, I guess," With that, the armor walked away, looking back for a second before disappearing into the crowds.

A moment of silence.

"Can this day get any _more_ random?" Dorchette asked.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Yay! Fifth chapter's up! I notice that I usually struggle on the fifth-fourth chapters… That sucks…

I've got an idea for chapter six, and a possible idea for chapter seven. If you want this story to continue, gotta send ideas! I thank all of you who have sent me your ideas, and will probably use them in this story! Ideas and reviews for TR are my lifeblood… XD

**greedfangirl:** Thanks for calling my story cute! I got the reaction I was hoping for… XD Hope you're a faithful reader for this story…

**BaronOBeefDip:** I hate writer's block, don't you? Sorry I couldn't get it up in the time I may have promised… Now I feel guilty, so sixth chapter's comin' soon!

**TyrantFlame:** Alright, I'm responding to all your reviews in one shot. Here we go! Why _wouldn't_ anyone read _Chimera_; it's really good! Any fic with the chimeras, however small a part they play, is the best fic ever. Do write more of that stuff… I can actually see Dorchette playing fetch, can't you? That's the sad thing; I can actually see him doin' that… Shows how obsessed I am with him, huh? I could try and make that idea work; it's a challenge, and I like that. So, I'll probably use it. Well, you got your chase/fight scene in Kimblee's room. Turned out quite different than what I initially thought it was gonna be… Poor Greed, he went 'ka-boom'…

So, yeah. That was the fifth chapter. I'll hurry up and try to get the sixth chapter up fairly soon, just 'cause I feel very guilty letting my lovely readers wait this long… Sorry y'all! Also, the idea for the chapter before this one and this chapter came from **Domenic**! So, I guess this is it until the sixth chapter… Disclaimer applies as usual.


	6. Lucky Dog

**Tabula Rasa**

By UltimatePalmTree

**Chapter Six**

Lucky Dog**  
**

"My luck's certainly changing tonight!"

Greed laughed as he placed an arm around Martel's waist and then sipped languidly at the drink in his other hand. The Homunculus was currently kicking ass at a dice game with a name Dorchette couldn't be damned to remember.

Dorchette and Roa flanked their boss on either side as his supposed bodyguards. Really, they were only in there so they could convince Greed to split whatever he won with his three favorite henchmen. They had accompanied Greed in the casino three hours ago, leaving Rasa in the room the four of them were sharing. Dorchette didn't look like it, but he was worried about that dog. More so than the damage Rasa could do to the room itself. He had been reassured several times by the other three that Rasa would be absolutely fine and would be in one piece when they got back. Still, with that dog, you couldn't help but feel that something was going to go wrong.

Greed turned to face his two comrades and said, "Your job is done here. Why don't you two go get some drinks and have fun by yourselves?"

Dorchette was about to protest before Roa placed a hand on his right shoulder, twisted him around and started walking away. The dog chimera followed, albeit apprehensively. He and Roa had technically been crowd control; whenever someone got too close for Dorchette's liking, he would flash him the hilt and a bit of the blade of his sword and they immediately backed off. And, yet _another_ thing to worry about…

Roa had somehow managed to circumnavigate the casino until they finally came across the pitiful excuse for a bar. They had ordered two of their favorite drinks, which soon turned to four, then six, and then Dorchette lost count of how many glasses were in front of him.

After what Dorchette guessed was his thirteenth glass, he looked up at his companion. Roa was sitting with his elbows on the counter and his head resting in his hands. His eyes were shut and his brow was furrowed slightly. The smaller of the two placed a sympathetic hand on the other's shoulder and said, "You alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a slight headache…" was Roa's response. Dorchette's dark blue eyes roved the counter where glasses upon glasses lay. A flicker of triumph fleetingly appeared on his face. The two of them had often had drinking contests and, more often than not, Dorchette had to be carried upstairs by Roa, thoroughly drunk or passed out. Seeing Roa with an alcohol-induced headache while he could order a few more drinks if he wanted to was a little sadistic pleasure of his.

It would have been more enjoyable if Dorchette didn't have the start of one.

"You wanna go back to the room?" he finally asked.

"That might be a good idea," With that, the bull chimera stood up and unsteadily started to walk away. Dorchette left a small pile of coins on the counter and then followed after him.

After explaining their predicament to Greed, the two started towards the lifts. Their room was on the fifteenth floor (if Dorchette's addled memory served right) and they had a fairly long way to go. During the time they were in the lift, Dorchette prayed that Roa wouldn't pass out until they got to the room. If he did, no amount of willpower or strength would move him.

When they finally got up to their room, the door—for some reason—was very slightly ajar. They didn't particularly pay any mind to this minor detail and entered the room. Almost immediately after they did, Roa crashed on the nearest bed, not even bothering to take anything off. Dorchette, however, had enough energy in him that he needed to burn off. So, he picked up one of Rasa's favorite chew toys off the floor and gave it a little squeeze.

"Rasa? You wanna play with me?" he asked tentatively. What _should_ have brought his dog skittering out and willing to play with him didn't work. Dorchette stayed crouched on the floor, holding the chew toy out and looking around for any signs of movement. Rasa had a habit of sneaking up behind you and pouncing, as demonstrated several times by the inhabitants at the Devil's Nest. Dorchette still had the scratches on his back from a vicious attack a few nights ago.

After a few minutes, he stood up and called the dog again. "Rasa? It's me, Dorchette. You know, the one who feeds you and gives you a bath and clean up your messes? C'mere, Rasa!"

The dog _still_ didn't come.

Dorchette whirled around, dropping the chew toy and heading towards the closet. After digging through clothes no one even bothered putting a hangar on, he determined Rasa wasn't there. He repeated the same process with anywhere a puppy could hide: under the beds, in the bathroom, in the drawers… Rasa was nowhere.

The dog chimera sat down on the bed Greed and Martel shared, trying to get himself to think clearer. Needless to say, the mix of alcohol and worry didn't help much. Where's a nice big patch of grass when you _really_ needed one?

Dorchette, instead of attempting to pretend the carpet was a suitable substitute, took out his favored pipe, lit it, and gnawed on the narrow end. Where could that dog have gotten? Surely he didn't…

_Then_ he remembered the door had been slightly open.

At the prospect of Rasa being unleashed upon the hotel, Dorchette felt slightly dizzy. Maybe it was the booze, but he doubted it. At once, he extinguished his pipe, grabbed Rasa's stuffed toy lamb and ran over to Roa's bed.

Now, under normal circumstances, Dorchette would have merely shaken Roa awake. But because he was pretty much wasted, he didn't care. He didn't care how undignified he looked as he beat Roa around the head with a stuffed lamb.

"Get up!" he yelled. Roa, get up _now_! Rasa's gone!"

Roa merely rolled over onto his stomach and said, "Can't you antagonize me in the morning when I can defend myself?"

This only made Dorchette hit all the harder. "C'mon! My dog's gone and I need to find him before Greed and Martel get back!"

"What do you need _me_ for?"

"Just get up!" Dorchette aimed the lamb for a final blow before tossing it at Roa's head and went to where Roa's hammer was. "Alright. I don't want to do this, but see your hammer, Roa? If you don't help me, it's going out the window!"

"No, it's not…"

"Want to bet?"

"Do you have even an inkling of an idea of how much that hammer _weighs_?"

A pause. "No…"

"Does it look like you're going to be able to pick it up?"

Another pause. "No…"

"Right. So, it's not a threat, now is it?"

"No… But how about if you don't, you'll have a repeat of the Indoor Rain Incident on your hands!" Dorchette's voice rose gradually to a yell as he said this.

_Finally_, Roa got up, albeit slowly. But Dorchette was satisfied. At least the dumb ox was _moving_. "Alright. What happened?"

Dorchette growled inwardly, and then said, "_Rasa_ is _gone_. _Rasa_ went _bye-bye_!" like he was speaking to a two-year-old. _Whoever's out in the hallway and hearing this tripe must be thinking some pretty bad things…_ he thought.

"What do you mean by 'gone'?"

"What part of 'gone' do you not understand? He's _gone_! As in he's hiding in the hotel somewhere!"

Roa's initially shut eyes widened before he said, "Dear _God_,"

Dorchette nodded. "Exactly. Let's go!" He practically wrenched the handle off the door as he ran into the hallway, and sniffed around, trying to catch Rasa's scent. "Smells recent…" he muttered as Roa came out from the room, massaging the space between his eyebrows with his thumb and index finger. He took a few tentative steps to the right, sniffed again, shook his head and then started down the left end of the corridor, Roa stumbling after him.

When Dorchette ran past the lifts, Roa stopped in front of them and watched as his comrade trotted steadily down the carpeted hallway. "Wait. Aren't we going to—"

"No,"

"But won't it be faster?"

"It'd be _faster_, but it wouldn't cover the ground we want to,"

"What were _you_ thinking of doing?"

Dorchette turned around on his heel, his patience obviously wearing thinner and thinner. "Look. There are _two_ stairwells on either side of each floor, right?"

Roa thought, trying to remember the floor plan as best as he possibly could while in this state. Finally, he said, "Yeah,"

"I was thinking that we take _this_ one down to the next floor, and scan _that_ hallway and go across to the other set of stairs, and keep zigzagging downwards._ Then _we try the lower floors, and _then_ we take the lifts up!"

Roa paused for a second, thinking this over, and said, "Wait a minute… Wouldn't it make more sense if we go up first, and then go down?"

"Roa, just _listen_ to me for once! I _know_ what I'm talking about!" Dorchette yelled. "Who has a better sense of smell? You or me?" When Roa failed to have a response, Dorchette said, "_Exactly_. Follow me,"

Reluctantly, Roa followed.

It was at or around the twelfth floor when the bull chimera realized something was wrong. Dorchette had stopped him in the middle of the hallway for the umpteenth time on that floor, and began sniffing once again. Abruptly, Dorchette swore and punched the wall. "_Now_ I know why hotels put all this air freshener _crap_ all over the freaking place!"

The door closest to Dorchette opened and some random person stuck his head out from the room. "Do you mind keeping quiet? Or do I have to call the front desk?"

Dorchette scowled, unsheathed his sword and held it diagonally in front of him. "Wanna _try_?"

The man—proving his intelligence—disappeared into the confines of his room. The next thing Roa heard was the clicks of the locks. Dorchette nodded and sheathed his sword once more. "Thought not," he muttered and started back down the hallway.

Roa sighed and said, "Dorchette? We are here to _relax_. Not drag me around the hotel in a futile search for a dog,"

"It's not just _any_ dog!" Dorchette protested, starting to walk backwards, arms folded over his chest. "Do you _honestly_ think if this was Martel's dog, I'd be looking for it? No. Well… Alright, I'd help and get her going in the right direction, but I wouldn't be tearing apart the bar looking for the damn thing! But since this is _my_ dog, and _my_ responsibility, I'll do anything to get him back!"

"Dorchette, I'd stop right now if I was you…"

"Why?" the dog chimera retorted.

"Because of what you're about to walk _in_ to…"

CRASH!

Pause.

"_Shit_," Roa muttered. He trotted over to where Dorchette was lying, obviously in some sort of discomfort, and watched as the smaller man slowly grimaced and arched his back. Dorchette had backed into one of those stupid carts the maids use when they're cleaning the room, and one of said maids had been taking it out of the room.

"_Oh, alors! Je suis désolé que je vous blessé, monsieur. Je n'ai pas su que vous étiez là…_" the young maid babbled.

"No… It's alright…" Dorchette said, slowly attempting to get up from the floor without doing further damage. He inhaled sharply, stopped for a second, and then continued to pick himself up. "I've had worse…" He stood up and he massaged his back, groaning in the back of his throat.

"_Monsieur, il doit y avoir quelque chose que je peux faire pour la faire jusqu'à toi… Le nommer, et je l'essayerai au meilleur de mes capacités._" She bowed her head slightly in respect.

Dorchette cocked his head slightly. "Huh?"

Roa leaned in and said, "I think she's asking you if there's anything she can help with,"

"Since when do _you_ know French?"

Roa shrugged. "It's a guess. But from what little French my brother taught me, I'll guess it's asking you if she could help you,"

Dorchette looked confused but eventually said, "Yeah… Know what? There _is _something you can do!"

She smiled brightly and continued in French. "_Oui, monsieur. Quelque chose que vous aimez. Je serai disposé à vous dépanner! Ce n'est aucun ennui du tout, je vous assurent…_"

"Yeah…" Dorchette repeated. "Can you stop speaking in French? Can't understand a damn thing you're saying to me,"

"_Bien que, la cousine de ma tante en second lieu n'ait pas hérité du collier. Pas directement, mais elle a été supposée à. Je ne sais pas ce qui s'est produit avec elle, mais elle erre toujours les coins de la terre recherchant un certain anneau stupide… Si vous vous avérez justement le voir, faites-le moi savoir!_" she continued, top-speed.

Dorchette was officially confused. "Translation, Roa?"

"There are no words…"

"You _serious_?"

"I don't understand a _thing_ she's saying… I don't think she speaks English…"

The muscles under Dorchette's right eye twitched in a decidedly annoyed fashion, causing the maid to stop her incessant rambling at once. "Thank you… But _no_…" Dorchette said to her, and started walking away down the hall again.

* * *

Roa watched the second hand click away on the clock above the reception desk, where Dorchette was arguing with a concierge. After being dragged down countless stairs (Roa lost count at one hundred eighty-two), he was relieved to be sitting down. That dumb dog couldn't stay in one place for more than two minutes… He supposed he needed to speak to Dorchette about using a leash.

"Fine! I feel the _exact_ same way about _you_ too!" This yell brought Roa back to reality and the current situation, and looked from the clock to the very, _very_ pissed-off dog chimera that was storming his way, grinding his teeth and fists clenched at his sides.

"How'd it go?" Roa asked, although the question was technically moot.

"I'd prefer not to go into details, thanks," Dorchette growled between clenched teeth. He sank down in the burgundy chair across from Roa and glared at him.

"Don't even think that way, dog. It's not my fault you left the door open,"

"I did _not_ leave the door open,"

"Who was the last one out of the door?"

A pause. "Wasn't _me_," Dorchette finally said, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms across his chest. "I know better than to leave Rasa in a room with an open door. This is the reason I wanted to stay in the room. But _no_. You guys convinced me that—" He was interrupted by Roa's deep chuckling. "What're you laughing about?"

Roa stopped, sighed and said, "It's nothing. You just sounded like my mother for a second there,"

The next thing Roa felt was Dorchette's hand connecting with the side of his head. "You're hopeless. I'm going to find Rasa myself!"

Roa paused for a second to contemplate Dorchette's action before yelling after him, "_That_ was relatively uncalled for,"

"Good riddance," Dorchette yelled back.

It was at that moment that a little black puppy dog decided to come flying down the stairs, a concierge in suit of it. Instantly, the two chimeras forgot about the whole argument and chased after Rasa, who was a _hell_ of a lot faster than he was a few weeks ago. The two chimeras tore down the hallway, Roa wishing he had brought his hammer. That way, he could break through walls if he needed to without undue wear and tear on his fists.

Well, maybe some of the alcohol's effects would still be there, so he wouldn't feel it as much…

But it'd be a real pain to wake up to in the morning.

"Rasa, come _back _here _now_!" Dorchette yelled. The stupid dog didn't seem to want to listen to his master and instead tore mach nine into the entertainment area. _Definitely_ not the best maneuver on Rasa's part. Despite it being close to (or past, come to think of it) midnight, there were still multitudes of people. Roa sighed. At least he was getting his excersize for the week.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

"We won a helluva lot of money… And we bet it all on _one_ simple game… And we lose it all!"

"Greed, don't beat yourself up over something like that. We won't hate you,"

"But that was a _lot_ of money, Martel!"

"Greed? Cool it. I still won't hate you,"

"Alright… Fine. Now, Dorchette and Roa are in the room, right?"

"That's what they said,"

Greed growled to himself and said, "Just hope they weren't having too much fun up there…"

"You better hope that they're _staying_ in the room at all,"

A pause. "Good point…" _Then_ Greed remembered the dog known as Rasa. "What if Dorchette decided to take the dog for a walk?"

"Dorchette knows better than that, Greed. Give him _some_ credit, will you?"

It is worth noting that, at this point, both Greed and Martel have pretty good hearing. So, if both of them just happened to hear a dog barking and both of them confirmed it, there was a pretty good chance that there was a dog somewhere in the vicinity. So, when Martel cocked her head and said, "That sounds like a dog…" Greed took her word for it.

The Homunculus laughed disbelievingly and said, "Who's a big enough asshole to take a dog into a hotel like…" An abrupt, sudden and perfectly uncalled-for picture of Rasa flashed into his mind. "Awwww… _shit_… C'mon!" Greed grabbed Martel's hand and started hurrying—well, as fast as one can hurry when they've been wearing the same vaguely uncomfortable shoes for the last few hours of their lives—towards where the dog barks were coming from.

They finally came across a fountain. It was a rather nice fountain, the kind Greed wanted in his bar if he had enough room. Heck, he'd want it in his bar even if he didn't have the room! Made out of some smooth shiny white rock, it was multi-leveled, and on the top platform was a griffon, carved out of the same smooth and shiny rock (black with green flecks this time), standing on its clawed back legs, and spitting water into the heavens before gravity won the battle and fell down to the bottom of the fountain once more, most likely to be recycled and used as faux griffon vomit once again.

Greed probably would _never_, for the life of him, figure out how Rasa managed to get onto the level with the water-spewing griffon.

The drenched doggy was standing between the griffon's legs and barking up a storm, Rasa's barks echoing off the glass atrium. It was as if the dog was saying "Look! I managed to practically drown my owner and one of his friends! Yayyyyy!" Which is what he pretty much was saying every day… If you replaced 'drown' with 'hurt' or 'critically maim', that'd work, too. Except put it in surround sound and on repeat. Yeah. That'll work.

Dorchette, sitting like a dejected puppy while the griffon vomited water on his head, was definitely _not_ amused. He was most likely cold, too, because Greed saw he was visibly shivering and was obviously trying to hide it from everyone else. Roa, however, was taking it better than the dog chimera. He was just kinda lying there on his back and glaring up at the ceiling in a way that could probably be read as "I hate my life…" Which, funny as it is, may have been what he was thinking at that moment.

Greed sighed and proffered a hand to Dorchette. Dark blue eyes glanced from the stone edge in front of him to the Homunculus's hand before reverting back to the stone edge of the fountain. "Sorry, boss…" he muttered and took Greed's hand.

"That's alright… I'm actually kind of used to it by now…" Greed said. He helped Dorchette out of the fountain and, while Dorchette was shaking off the excess water, went over to Roa. "You alright, big guy?"

Roa sighed, but said, "No concussions so far. I think I'll live," With that, he sat up in the fountain water and looked up to where Rasa was. He sighed and stood up, took the dog off the pedestal and then got out of the fountain. "I think we had enough fun for today. Right, Dorchette?"

Dorchette took the dog from Roa, glared at him and said, "If you can call that _fun_… What kind of sadistic hotel leaves the fans on in winter! Holy hell, I'm freezing…"

"I would offer you my jacket, but it's kind of wet, so I don't think it'll help that much,"

"_Shut up, Roa_…"

Rasa sneezed.

"I'd _better not _get a cold from this little adventure,"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Yeah. I'm back. Sorry for the delay, friends! I had writer's block on everything, so… this suffered as well. Yup.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Yeah, who can guess what the next chapter's going to be about?

Well… I don't really wanna say this, but I suppose I should give you a warning of some kind, y'know? I might end _Tabula Rasa_ soon. Yeah… I'm running out of ideas, and I don't _want_ to end _Tabula Rasa_. In fact, I'd like to continue this as long as I can, but I'm severely lacking in the idea department as of now. This may change later on, but just to let you know. Keep sending in ideas, and I'll most likely continue _Tabula Rasa_ for a bit longer!

So, that being said, I think I should take some time and space to thank the various reviewers!

**Violin Howl:** Thanks! I thank you for taking the time to read _Tabula Rasa_. I hope you enjoy future chapters as well.

**TyrantFlame:** Yup. Poor Greed. He must like Rasa to some degree then, huh? I'll be sure to continue, and it's nice to know people are reading my stuff!

**BaronOBeefDip:** I guess 'going boom' wasn't on Greed's agenda, huh? Ah well… I'll try and be faster with my updates, 'kay?

**Chaotic Demon:** Yes, puppies are awesome! Sadly, I don't have a dog, but I want one…

**KuroNekoNya:** I started working on the seventh chapter, so it should be up soon!

**greedfangirl:** I'm glad I made you feel famous. Not often I get that reaction! You're on here again, so… Yah! XD Hope you continue reading!

I liked this chapter the best, I think… I don't know _how_ I got this; I doubt there are any Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods type places in or near Dublith, but, y'know. Fanfiction. Operative word _fiction_. I saw a commercial for one of those types of hotels (with thousands and thousands of shops and nightclubs and stuff like that) and I was like, "Wow. I don't think anyone would want a dog in _that_ hotel…"

So, this is the idea I got. I had it ever since I started the fifth chapter, so if that one seemed rushed, then that's why.

I think I'd want a fountain like that, don't you? Ah well. Don't own one. Just as I don't own FMA or anything to do with it. Rasa's the only thing I own. If I owned a puppy dog like Rasa, I'd be squeeing my head off every two seconds. But I don't even own a real dog. Several stuffed dogs, tho': Greed (husky), Batou (Rottweiler), Togusa (black lab), etc. Maybe I should get a stuffed Rasa…

Sorry, rambling there… Anyways, have a nice day and remember to tip your waitresses! XD

(By the way, that whole French paragraph had nothing to do with Rasa... XD Side-tracked much, Colette?)


	7. Quick Author's Note: Absence Explained

**Quick Author's Note:  
Tabula Rasa Chapter Seven  
**

* * *

_An Explanation For My Absence_

* * *

Now, I'm not one for these whole chapters dedicated to author's notes. But I think I will make one exception. After all, one time won't kill me.

Alright, to clear up the semi-controversial matter: no, I am not dead. My heart still beats in the left side of my chest (little Rammstein reference there… hehe), and I am very much alive. I just haven't been writing much fanfiction lately. The reason was I wanted to take a few weeks off so I could work on my original stories and… well, it kind of turned into more than a few weeks. So, these fanfiction files stayed abandoned in my hard drive until I uncovered them. Woot.

Second matter: yes, I _am_ in the process of writing _Tabula Rasa _chapter seven, as well as _Fire Wolf_ chapter four and _Enter Night_ chapter… three, I think it is? Anyways. I am in the process of trying to rewrite _Tamers_, so watch out for that (if anyone is interested in that one). Right now, the big one will be _Tabula Rasa_ seven.

I'm not sure whether it'll be another two-parter (the chapter is now six pages long and counting… Oo;; That's long for me!) or if it'll just be told in one solid chapter. But Rasa and Dorchette are still very much alive and well, and I thank you all in the sincerest way possible for all of the story ideas you've given me. I probably will get around to using all of them, but if I miss one, please forgive me, I'm only human after all! I think I have enough to write a few more chapters of this thing, but if I have a sudden idea shortage, I'll probably request them once again. But right now, I think I'm pretty good.

I wasn't expecting to have just about every reviewer giving me an idea! I was amazed at the response to the fact I might have had to stop writing this fic! It truly makes me happy to know you guys enjoy the story. Really, it does. :D (Also, TyrantFlame, I think you're safe from the Rasa fans – I have no idea if there _are_ any fans of said pup, but I think you're pretty safe because the numbers must be pretty damn small… XD)

So, basic bullet points to take away from this lecture?

I'm alive.

_Tabula Rasa _chapter seven will be up soon (either in one part or two) and other stories will be written, I promise.

_Tabula Rasa_ shall continue on for a while:D

That's all. I hope I still have a few readers for when I get chapter seven up here; it'll be taking the place of this author's note soon enough. ;)

_Sincerely Sorry,_

_UltimatePalmTree_

(PS – Because most of you have probably been way more than patient, I'm going to give you a little surprise. I shall write a little _Tabula Rasa omake_ chapter! _Omake_ means 'extra' or 'bonus' in Japanese, and it's usually those cute little shorts of chibi versions of the characters running around and doing random stuff. I figure someone might want a story out of this 'chapter', so I'll replace this chapter with the _omake_ when I am finished with it. It'll be a short little thing, but the real chapter seven will be right behind it I promise! Enjoy!)


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